Pages

Monday, November 5, 2012

The Dual Identity of the Lemko Villager: Surnames and Household Names

By Corinna Wengryn Caudill

A family in front of a homestead in Swiatkowa Wielka

"Yak cya pishesh, yak cya zvesh?" ("Як ся пишеш, Як ся звеш?")

This Lemko expression means "How are you written, and how are you called?" It refers to the fact that Lemkos in any given village often had two identities: that of the family (the "written" version or surname) and that of the homestead from where he or she came, which was the name used locally by friends and neighbors to identify or refer to an individual.

Dr. Stephen Rapawy, a historian educated at Georgetown University with a specialization in Soviet and Eastern European studies, explains the practice from his own experiences growing up in pre-war Karlykiv (Pol: Karlikow), located in the Sianik (Sanok) region. According to Dr. Rapawy, his immediate family had the surname of "Rapawy," and his father's formal name was "Fedor Rapawy," but the Rapawy surname was only used for formal or legal purposes. Since the household name was "Koval'" (meaning "smith" and likely adopted from the surname of the farm's founder), neighbors and friends referred to his father as "Fets'ko Kovalo." (Fets'ko is a diminutive or familiar form of Fedor.)

So why did Lemkos do this?

"There was a great emphasis on the land," said Dr. Rapawy. "A Lemko's identity was tied to the land- specifically, to a particular farm. There were very few sales of land in the region - it was not the norm. Farms would pass down from generation to generation. If a particular family had no son to take over the farmstead and it was passed to a married daughter, the farmstead would retain its original name (such as Koval' in his family's case) and even the daughter's husband would be referred to by the farmstead name because he had become part of it."

Dr. Rapawy points out that such scenarios were not uncommon in the late 19th century and in the 20th century due to scarcity of land and the increasing incidences of emigration from the region. "Maybe a son from a family went to the United States or Canada and the daughter inherited the farm. Such scenarios were pretty common by the 1930s."*

20 comments:

I found your article interesting because it might explain a similar practice among my Rusyn ancestors of Eastern Slovakia (Humenne area). It was extremely common in that area for people to be known by an "alias". For instance, my Baba entered the US under the name Suzanna Csarnej, but her brother chastised her for this saying her true name was Suzanna Maczko. I know that Csornej or Csarnej means "black." Other families had aliases such as the Kalyanin family using Sosak, the Vaszilyko and Vadzsita families using Csornej, the Bubnas family using Stenko, and so on. It had not occurred to me that these may be "farm names," or names tied to the land. The thing I don't understand is why so many families would use the same one (Csornej in particular).

Thanks Suzanne - we're glad you found the article interesting. The Lemko settlement region does extend past the southern slopes of the Carpathians into the Presov region of Slovakia, and therefore, I'd venture to say that your relatives in Humenne were Lemkos, and even if they didn't use that word to describe themselves, they were ethnically/culturally/linguistically very similar. This practice of "Yak cya pishesh/yah cya zvesh" surely wasn't limited to Lemkos in Poland. People thought of themselves more by the household names than by the written names, and referred to one another as such much more frequently. As to why so many families would use the same one, I don't know the answer to that, but if you find out, we'd love to know as well. Good luck with your research on your ancestors. Feel free to join our community on Facebook if you haven't already. www.facebook.com/lemkoprojectWe would love to have you, and we post more frequently there than we do on this blog.

I don't think it had to do with being a "cossack"/"kozak" though - it was more to do with the property itself in this case. I'm no expert on kozaks, but I believe that they did use aliases/pseudonyms, but likely for a different reason.

Just thought I'd add a few thoughts. When the Lemkos in Poland ask the same question, they pronounce it "iak sia nazyvash" (jak sia nazyvash). This is due to the various dialects that reflect the native language (Ukrainian, Polish, Slovak) where the Lemko lives.

You will also find variations in the spellings and pronunciations for first and last names. This is due largely to the difficulty of accurately translating the Cyrillic pronunciation into the Latin alphabet, since some of the sounds of Cyrillic letters do not exist in the Latin alphabet.

As for the land situation, the reasons the Lemkos could not sell their land is because it really didn't belong to them until the mid-19th century. Before then, they were surfs tied to the land of the noble landlord who actually owned the land. The landlord would lease the land to the peasant farmers in exchange for unpaid labor on the lords lands, a portion of the harvest, taxes, etc. The farmer would then lease the land in perpetuity, which meant that he could pass it down to his sons basically forever. Initially, the land could only be passed down to the eldest son, which left any other sons out in the cold. Later on, the land could be divided among all his sons. After many generations of dividing and subdividing the land so many times, the individual plots became so small that it was difficult to make a living from such a small parcel.

In the case of daughters, the land was usually passed on to the daughter's husband. And if the new husband had land of his own, both parcels might be combined into one for hereditary purposes--and often the two surnames were combined. One such surname that comes to mind is Hrinda-Bobak. Initially, the bride's family went by the name Hrinda-Bobak. But in later years, they branched off into either Hrinda or Bobak. But I couldn't find an explanation for how they came to use which name.

As for the Lemko lands extending south of the mountains, you will sometimes find this reflected in maps where what is now referred to as the Carpatho-Rusyn land is referred to as "Lemko land," seemingly referring to all Rusyns as Lemkos. But as many of us who have done significant research have learned, things can vary depending on the author.

Thank you for the excellent comments - very informative and interesting. (Now I am wondering who wrote this although I have my suspicions ;) Although I didn't address it in the brief article above, this dividing and subdividing of the land was a major reason why it was so attractive for Galicians to relocate in the late 1800s/early 1900s when the coal barons came looking for cheap labor. I believe that in addition to some droughts/poor harvests, the constant divisions of land contributed to the poverty. It would really be interesting to trace this - when you go to these small towns in Pennsylvania, for example, the landscape reflects the history (coal mines, the remains of small shanty towns, zillion different types of ethnic churches, etc.), but the connection to the "old world" is not so immediately apparent.

Hi Christine - this was common practice among Galicians, so ethno-national identity wouldn't have made any difference. All Ruthenians/Rusyns identified the same before they fractured into different ethno-national orientations. The official surname would likely be the one to be noted on the census.

Im from California and never knew where my surname originated. People often ask if it is Polish. We thought it was a Czech name untill i found out Czechs do not use letter W. As i researched Polish names i noticed they were similar but mine was not proper Polish. I know my granfather was not Jewish but Catholic from Northern Hungary. His mother from Austria. My surname is Wykofka but early documents its Woykofka. They arrived in Pennsylvania and were Coal miners. i recently saw records of a Wykoska and it said she was Russ-Polish. Then i found a man that had the same first and last name in Riseta Romania but spelled Voykofka! What the hell is going on!! Haha! Can somebody help 😳

Hi Frank! Thanks for writing and sorry it's taken so long to get back to you. We are volunteers and have been busy with other things and haven't checked the blog as much as we probably should! Anyway, regarding your questions - the Latinized (or Anglicized) versions of slavic names is something that is less than precise because these names are transliterated from their original form. For example, if your ancestors were Ukrainian, Russian or Rusyn, the your surname would likely be spelled in the cyrillic alphabet as "Войковка" which I would suspect is a Russian surname, although there are people who lived in various countries or areas that have surnames that seem like Russian (I am not an expert on that, but you might check into it.) I did double check Ivan Krasovs'kii's "Surnames of Galician Lemkos of the 18th Century and this surname does not appear to be listed as a "Lemko surname." Anyway, regarding the spelling, when surnames were transliterated by English speaking people here in the US or in Canada for new immigrants, the way they were rendered in English (latin alphabet) often depended on how the English speaking person (for example, the person writing the name on a ship manifest) rendered it, and that was usually based on how they heard it from the immigrant. The "w" sound is used in Polish speech and not Ukrainian or Russian speech, by the way. You would probably need to see if you can find a ship manifest or other immigration documents (perhaps on Ancestry.com) to try to see if one of your ancestors referenced a particular village. If they did, it would then be easier to determine what area they came from. If you can find out the name of a village (or villages), we do have resources that might help you determine what area/country they came from. So feel free to write back on this thread at that time, or you can visit us on Facebook. (Search for "The Lemko Project" and message us there - we are likely to see that more readily.)

Also, you said that one of your ancestors was from "Austria" - but this might not mean Austria (the country of today) but is more likely to mean the "Austro-Hungarian empire" which today's Poland was part of. (After Poland was partitioned in the 18th century, the territory was absorbed by the Austrian Empire under the Habsburg crown and became part of the province of Galicia. It is starting to sound like your family MAY have been from Poland, but weren't necessarily "Polish". Another clue to uncover is what kind of Catholicism did they practice? If it was Roman Catholicism, they were likely Polish or assimilated as Poles. If it was Greek Catholic or Byzantine Catholic (eastern rite Catholicism), they were likely to be Ukrainian or Ruthenian. (See our tab on "identity" if this is confusing)

Thank you for responding and taking the time to help out a stranger like myself! Its still a confusing mess with my family research haha! I do know the ship and manifest number but i do not know what to do from there. Its get really confusing because the vast majority of the men in my family are named Frank or Karl. For example my name is Frank, my father Frank, his brother Carl, there father is Frank, his brother Carl, there father is Carl but his father is Emanuel haha! lots of Anna's and Mary's too. Anyways my grandfather was born here and believe it or not im 36 and if he were alive today he would have been 107!! My great great grandfather was Emanuel Woykofka, sailed from Antwerp, Kennsington, manifest #0020. I believe the it was April 16th 1902. He came back and forth from what i hear, at least 3 times. His wife Amelia Bruckner and he has sons Carl, Emil and August. I believe they were Roman Catholic and strangly they spoke German and on some records they identify themselves as German. They were from Resita Romania but i see also Kis-Kun? There is also another Carl but also went by Frank and he spelled his name Voykofka and also lived in Resita. I was able to get in contact with his great granddaughter and she cant figure where they originate either. Her words were "they say they were German but their not!" haah. Im pretty sure we are related and he even looked like my dad did. He was also from today Czech Republic so it gets weird. Back to my great great grandfather Emanuel Woykofka, i seen a ellis island document that said his last place of residence was Essen,Germany but both Essen and Resita may have been where he coal mined im thinking. Budapest also comes up. On skoumal.eu there is a Etelka Vojkovka and she is listed twice as also Etelka Vojkofka born 1885, Nagyteteny, Budapest. There is a site www.die-maus-bremen.de/Datenbanken/auswanderer/passagierli/index.pl. Here i found someone im almost certain im related to. His name was Ferenz Wojkofka,33, Resicza, Hungary, Agricultural Tagel, Clevland Ohio. I know he eventually immigrated to texas. He is listed along with people mostly from Galicia. The others are listed from Losiniec. I looked up Losiniec and apparently a Ukranian nazi group? this was in 1907 and i dont recall Nazis coming into power until the 1930s huh? well another twist is one of my great uncles was the only one not born in Hungary but in Oberlausitz Germany. that raised a eyebrow so i came across Wojkovka people with same first names but the dates were slightly off and they immigrated from Meckenburg Germany. Darn near Denmark. i was reading that area was home of the Oberites and they eventually were assimulated with the Germans but not all. Some moved south into Oberlausitz and some more settled all the way down to the Hungarian/Serbian border near where my family is from. the descendants in Oberlausitz are todays Sorbs or Wendes. You think its possible the Woykofka, Wojkovka, Voykofka are Wendes? Whats strange is they do all speak German but my 3rd cousin took a DNA test and no German came up. She is 93% eastern European Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Rumonia is said. it was a crappy one from ancestry.com so probably not very accurate but no mention of German. well I will let you rest now lol! oh and my family notes mention that Emanuel spelled his name Wykoska and his brother from Ohio Voykoska. If you google Wykoska it brings up Poland but Voykoska Finland. So its just speculation right now but i thank you for looking into this and hopefully you can help me a little or send me in the right direction! Thank you and best wishes- Frank Woykofka or Wykoska? Wykofka :)

So much of this sounds like my family that I wonder if anyone can help me out or confirm.. My great grandfather lived in Hazelton, PA and was a coal miner. The family story is that his father had inherited a farm in Russia that was a mile long, and only one furrow wide. So they came to the US to make money in the mines to return and buy a farm. My grandfather stayed though his father returned and bought a farm. We were always told they were from Russia, but the last name is Haber (first name Wasil). And in the 1920 census, he claimed he was from Austria-Hungary, 1930 said Trans-Carpathia. I had a Ukranian friend read his headstone- he was able, but said the dialect was strange. They were Byzantine Catholics, I think. One other thing- the other side of my family was Polish/Lithuanian. I think they could communicate somewhat in native language, and/or my great grandfather sounded Polish at a distance, but not up close when you could hear the words- if that makes any sense. I would appreciate any insight anyone could give. Thanks.

My family name is Kanchir and my ancestors are definitely from the lemkivshchyna and i was wondering what my family name means. I think it might mean basket or root because my ancestors made baskets from the roots of a certain tree.I would appreciate if anyone could help me about the meaning of my name.

Hello,My name is Lisa Frizzle and my family was from Hoczew (southeast) Poland. My gr grandfathers name was Jan Bubas. I've found records dating back to his parents and grandparents. What struck me as odd is his father and grandfather was formally listed in records as Valentine Panfil vel or recte Bubas. I've never heard of the name Panfil before this record. When I researched this name I see a lot of Panfilo listed. The nearby villages I've also researched a lot and never have seen the name in any land records. My Gr Granithers names were Cherbetko and Luczejko which were Ukrainian. I know for sure Panfil is not Ukrainian. One entry that I did find interesting is that the profession was listed as servium. Fellow researchers in the area thought it meant that the family was somehow connected to the royal houses in the territory. Most occupations were farming in that region. Any suggestions of what type of records I should be looking for to find some answers.Thank you, Lisa

Lisa, thanks for your note. I'm going to ask my colleague Richard Garbera to respond to you. He's probably the best person to do so, as he's very knowledgeable. The Ukrainian toponym for Hoczew (which is the Polish toponym) is Hochiv by the way. That I can tell you. Good luck with your research.-Corinna

Hello, Lisa. Well, "recte" and/or "vel" means "legally" and/or "also known as." Panfil is a Polish surname, not Ukrainian. I assume that you've gone back as far as possible in the records from Hoczew? If your ancestors were from another place Galician records often refer you to the original village. Did you find anything indicating a "change of rite?" For instance, from Latin rite to Greek rite. If so, assuming that you were checking Greek Catholic records, you may want to check Roman Catholic records nearby. Aside from that, you may want to search for the nearest area that did contain the surname Panfil and check there.

We're powered by Podio - simple project management software to easily manage teams, projects and much more in one central place. Work the way you want to with the unique ability to create your own apps.